Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The Tower of Ideation
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Loan offered a small joke to the embarrassed Tower Master.
“Soon, you'll be able to feel touch with your sight. You know how some people say they wear glasses to hear better.”
“...”
He thought he had explained the connection of the senses enough, but it seemed she hadn't yet fully grasped the concept.
This time, he asked seriously.
“Then, can I trust that the Tower of Sensation will venture outside and directly confront the Grave from now on?”
Ingrid nodded emphatically.
“Of course. We will do so even without a request. You mentioned that the five senses were unleashed in a moment of urgency, so wouldn't the effect be doubled if we faced the Grave directly? Everyone here is prepared for that.”
The mages of Sensation did not avoid the Tower Master's gaze.
Their eyes were all gleaming with a consistent fervor.
Mages were such beings.
When faced with difficult or unfamiliar concepts, theories, formulas, or magic, they were invigorated.
Strange beings whose intellectual desire overcame all else.
The seeds Loan had sown would torment them, yet also bring them great joy.
The Tower Master, who wore a similar smile as she looked at her mages, and Loan looked at each other.
Loan spoke.
“I heard the 15th floor is the residence of the Freaks. My only regret is not being able to interact with them.”
“Even I find it difficult to meet them. It's been a long time since we recognized them as independent entities, but I sometimes wonder if they're imprisoning themselves.”
“I hope there will be a chance on my next visit.”
“You are always welcome.”
“It was a pleasant visit. I will now head to the Tower of Ideation.”
“The Master of the Tower of Ideation is a bit different from the others you've met. You could say his pursuits differ from the other three Tower Masters. So, it would be best not to have high expectations about borrowing their military strength.”
The advice was both helpful and not. He decided to meet the man without any preconceived notions.
“Thank you for the advice. Well then.”
Sent off by the mages of Sensation, Loan and the modernist mages following him headed for the Tower of Ideation.
While crossing the bridge.
Josef kept looking back for a long time, showing his reluctance to leave. Noticing Loan's gaze, he opened his mouth with a bitter expression.
“It's like a hometown to me. For a moment, I thought it would be nice to train the five senses and synesthesia with them again.”
“They said they're all coming out, so you can join them.”
“Yes. For now, my priority is to witness and record the changes in the tower with my own two eyes. And to accompany you on your great journey, Loan.”
Loan's face reddened slightly at the excessive praise.
Stipe added sympathetically.
“If we could convey our intentions to the Master of the Tower of Implementation, I could ask for nothing more. Somehow, thanks to you, it feels like that might just come true.”
Loan didn't deny it.
“Yes. Optimism is always more helpful than pessimism.”
As they shared small talk, they soon reached the end of the bridge.
Loan looked up at the tower and remarked.
“It certainly looks a bit different from the previous three. It seems closed off, even from the outside.”
The outer wall was completely sealed without a single window, yet somehow they knew of Loan's arrival.
*Srrreung—*
A unique stone door opened downwards, as if crumbling away.
Those who came out to greet them were the mages of Ideation, all dressed in black.
Their clothes, complexions, and expressions gave them the impression of monks.
“Welcome, Loan of the Union. The Tower Master has been eagerly awaiting you.”
Loan gave a slight bow to those who welcomed him and stepped inside.
“Whoa...”
The exclamation escaped his lips unconsciously.
The Tower of Ideation had a central atrium that stretched up to the ceiling, but the space was not empty.
A giant hourglass, reaching the height of the 15th floor, filled the center.
The sifting sand was like a sparkling waterfall.
It was incredibly beautiful.
“It's magnificent.”
It seemed to be the first time for his companions as well. They stared blankly at the falling sand, mesmerized.
Not only was it massive, but its shape was also quite unique.
The sand that fell through the narrow central passage didn't accumulate at the bottom but was shot back up through a transparent tube to rejoin the sand at the top.
In other words, an eternally falling hourglass.
“Outsiders call it the Infinite Hourglass. We call it the Reduction of the Spirit.”
The person spoke as he approached.
Seeing him leading the mages, it was clear he was the Master of the Tower of Ideation.
He greeted Loan with a bright face.
“I am Reinhold Dierckne, Master of the Tower of Ideation.”
“Loan, Runner of the Union's Faith Division.”
“To meet again like this. It hasn't been long, yet it feels like an eternity. It's good to see you. Welcome.”
“It's good to see you.”
Loan also greeted him with a wide smile. He was just as pleased to see him.
Reinhold Dierckne.
The second mage Loan had fought during his Union entrance exam.
Still the same pale skin, the same straight facial lines.
The only differences were that he had grown so thin his cheekbones protruded sharply, and his gaze had become a bit keener.
“It's only been a few months, but you seem to have changed a bit. You weren't the Tower Master back then, were you?”
“That's why I was free to take the entrance exam. I had a great epiphany after our duel. It's thanks to that I became the Tower Master.”
“That's good news.”
“You're far more remarkable than I. I never doubted you would accomplish great things, but the rumors I've heard have exceeded all expectations. I suppose that's how you became a Runner in such a short time.”
As if proud, Reinhold repeatedly patted Loan's arm gently.
“I met Senior Uli at the Tower of Phenomena. I believe you said he was your disciple, but you came here to the Tower of Ideation, Tower Master.”
“Hmm. That's right. You could say I had a sort of awakening. I believed this was the most suitable place to cultivate it, so I petitioned the Master of the Tower of Implementation. In a way, perhaps it was you and that Infinite Hourglass that led me here.”
“So, that hourglass is the guardian of this place.”
“Indeed. Can you feel it?”
“Yes.”
*Sararak—* The sound of the falling sand was like music, and at times, like a gentle voice.
Thanks to it, he realized that language wasn't always necessary for conversation.
He could feel both meaning and emotion in the sound.
“It's no exaggeration to say that this Tower of Ideation is all about that hourglass. The mages here spend their entire day just watching it.”
“Do they really just watch it?”
“They do. Look over there.”
Reinhold pointed to the structures built along the tower's inner wall.
Each had one side open. Inside.
Mages were sitting on the floor in perfect posture, gazing at the hourglass.
It was the same on the 2nd floor, the 3rd, and all the higher floors.
“Simply watching is a form of training. It's meditation, and it's concentration. Taming the spirit while cultivating mana. That is the goal of this Tower of Ideation.”
Loan had been cultivating mana through movement since he was young, but most people who used mana had to dedicate time to this kind of practice.
At first glance, it sounded quite ordinary, but on the other hand, it was also strange.
Loan asked his question again.
“Do they really just watch it all day?”
As if understanding the intent behind the question, the Tower Master smiled faintly.
“They do.”
“...”
“Strange, I'm sure. Of course, improving one's magic power and elevating one's spirit is the path a mage must walk, but that doesn't mean one can neglect theory and implementation.”
“Yes. That's what I think.”
“This Tower of Ideation was once similar. But it's different now. We've firmly decided that it's right to focus solely on volition and the spirit itself.”
Reinhold gestured lightly to Loan and began to walk.
Walking side-by-side with him, they sat together on a bench by the wall.
Gazing at the hourglass again, Reinhold continued to speak about his epiphany.
“I can't forget the day you neutralized my fireball. I replayed that moment over and over in my mind. It even appeared in my dreams. Do you remember what you told me then, to strengthen the cohesion and trajectory of the fire's structure?”
“Yes. I remember.”
“At first, I really fixated on that. It didn't go well.”
That made sense.
It wouldn't be difficult if seeing mana was a prerequisite.
“Then I tried to find the reason, but that was difficult too. In the end, I came to the conclusion that I could never catch up to you through conventional training methods. And then, at that moment, an epiphany came to me.”
“What was it?”
“That all things, including magic, are products of the mind.”
Training based on experience had clear limitations.
Could one read every book in the world? Impossible. Therefore, if knowledge and wisdom lie within books, there will always be knowledge and wisdom that can never be obtained.
If one increases the destructive power of magic through study and training, can one truly say they have reached the pinnacle of magic?
Is raising one's magic power for that purpose the ultimate path for a mage?
Can one reclaim the lost status of mages by training the senses?
In the end, sensation is perception, and perception is awareness and experience. That, too, has clear limits.
“We have always believed that magic was perfected in the age of the great mages. So, all this time, mages have been obsessed with the manifestation, implementation, and replication of magic. Only one person was different. You.”
Reinhold stroked his hollow cheeks a few times with his fingers.
It gave the impression that he was consoling himself for the hardships he had endured.
“What was different about you? I saw that driving force as the spirit. What we call volition. Everything else is merely material. Volition is the catalyst and the source. Since the entire world is but a product of the spirit, it is the most important thing of all.”
The process of finding the primordial, absolute, and complete spirit.
That was what the Tower of Ideation was doing.
Loan agreed with part of what he said.
Only a part.
He couldn't know how they strengthened their spirits or generated powerful volition just by sitting still and watching the falling sand.
However, he questioned whether training in such a closed, confined space, pushing oneself as if through torture, was truly the entirety of a mage's path, and whether such single-mindedness was truly right.
“I find it difficult to agree readily. I've always believed one shouldn't be biased towards any single thing. So, have there been any results?”
“The elevation of the spirit. The strengthening of volition. The depth of our desperation has changed.”
“I'm curious what kind of results that has produced.”
At Loan's response, Reinhold smiled. The hollows of his cheeks deepened.
“Before I answer that, I must first ask for your understanding. I am well aware of what you desire. Because of our past, I would like to simply grant your request, but from my position as Tower Master, these are not simple matters.”
“It's alright. I was only doing my duty back then.”
“Then I will speak plainly. For you to leave this place, and to lead our mages of Ideation outside, you must present a new form of magic before the tower's guardian.”
“What?”
It was quite a surprising proposal.
Of course, it wasn't a difficult task for Loan, who had created many spells on his own, but the proposal itself implied that the tower was also capable of such a feat.
The Master of the Tower of Ideation nodded and said.
“You said you were curious about the results of our training methods. The answer is like a test. We have created a considerable number of new spells, and we continue to do so.”
If that was true, it was an incredible achievement.
That was precisely what had frustrated Loan about his senior mages.
“The rules are simple. We take turns presenting new magic, and the one who can no longer show any, loses.”
“I accept.”
He was curious.
What kind of new magic had they created?
And despite them having accomplished such a great feat, why had the Master of the Tower of Sensation told him not to have high expectations?